


Here We Pokemon Go Again

by Seekingtheoblivion



Series: I Know It's My Destiny [1]
Category: Homestuck, Pokemon GO
Genre: Alcohol, Bars and Pubs, Clubbing, DJ Dave, Humanstuck, M/M, Pokemon GO - Freeform, PokemonGoStuck, Pokestuck, actually if i flesh this all out, all characters are in their 20s, because i like that au, clubs, i shoulda tagged that earlier, ima tag it just in case, is that a thing?, more tags added when i think of them, most of the characters will be in education, nerds trying to go clubbing, or are suggested by readers, or does this apply as pokestuck, teacher karkat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-23 12:30:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7463379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seekingtheoblivion/pseuds/Seekingtheoblivion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat and Dave meet at a Pokestop while playing Pokemon Go.</p><p>Karkat is a 25 year old teacher on summer break who really likes Scythers.<br/>Dave is a 23 year old (not so)secretly nerdy DJ who really likes Karkat.</p><p>OR Wherein Karkat and Dave meet, catch Pokemon, and maybe fall in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Meet Cute. or Meet Awkward. Both apply.

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy! This is my first foray into DaveKat fanfic, so everyone who reads this is a brave soul. 
> 
> I guess its also my first foray into Pokemon Go fic, though this one is really the only one I ever see myself writing.
> 
> Anyways, I love fics with the kids as adults. And I wanted to see these giant nerds playing Pokemon Go. So ya'll get to see this disasterpiece.
> 
> EDIT: If you like Pokemon Go, please read this beautiful, beautiful fic 
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/7523863

“Terezi, hurry the fuck up!” Karkat paced the worn carpet in Terezi’s living room, excitement stealing his ability to sit patiently and wait for his friend. “You said you’d be ready by now!” He shoved a hand through his thick, dark hair. No matter what he did with it, it always looked like he just got out of bed.

“Hold your horses, Karkles! Pokemon Go has already been out for two days.” Karkat heard a loud huff, and then a thud. “The Pokémon can wait until I find my shoes!”

“How the fuck do you lose your shoes? You literally always need to be wearing them. Why are they not by your door?” Karkat stopped pacing, standing still in his disbelief.

“Found them!” Terezi announced triumphantly, swinging her door open and brandishing a pair of white high-tops, each one with a really fucking terrible rendition of what seemed to be Dragonite and Charizard drawn on in what Karkat assumed to be colored sharpies. She dropped them to the floor and jammed them on her feet.

Karkat stared at her, not all that surprised at her choice in footwear.

“Those are really fucking terrible. Is that supposed to be a Charizard?”

Terezi grinned, showing all her teeth. Karkat never understood how a human being could look so much like a shark as Terezi did. “You bet your sweet ass it is! Now let’s go!” Karkat barely managed to snag his backpack before she grabbed his hand and her cane and marched to the door.

The pair walked to the bus stop, only pausing for Karkat to catch three Pidgeys and a Venonat. Even though it was about 8:00 in the morning, the summer sun shone down unrelentingly on the city. Karkat and Terezi sat down at a grimy bench and waited for the next bus. Karkat grimaced and scooted away from an unidentifiable sticky patch on the bench. “Okay, so Sollux said Lakeside Park has Scyther and Jynx like fucking all over the goddamn place. Let’s go there first and avoid the putrid asshats that will be sure to swarm all over the place like a festering infection as soon as they can pull their greasy corpses out of bed.”

“Hehehe, sounds good to me.” Terezi stretched, waving her cane in the air and almost whacking a passerby in the shoulder. “As long as we can go to the Weeping Mother statue nearby. The guy at Jimmy John’s said he got a Charmander there yesterday.”

Karkat rolled his eyes. “You and your fucking dragons.”

Terezi turned to face him solemnly. It almost seemed as if she was making eye contact behind her red, pointy shades. “You can never have too many dragons.”

Karkat rolled his eyes again. He swore that one of these days they would get permanently stuck up there and he’d have to look at the ceiling for the rest of his godforsaken life.

The bus pulled up to their spot, the brakes squealing to a painful stop. They climbed on the bus and took a seat near the front. This early in the morning the bus was getting full with commuters on their way to work. Karkat was never so happy to be a teacher as he was in the summer.

“Thank fuck for summers.” He sighed.

“Best part of working in education.” Terezi hummed in agreement. “Though it would be nice if I got to sleep in every once in a while.”

“Please.” Karkat scoffed. “This is literally the first time all summer you have gotten up before nine.”

Terezi leaned her head back against the seat. “Well, you know what they say.” 

Karkat failed to keep an eyebrow from raising in question. “That would be…?”

She turned to him. “She who drops the ball will never catch ‘em all.”

“What the fuck.” Karkat snorted. “That was brain meltingly stupid.”

She sniffed. “You liked it.”

Karkat jostled her with elbow in response. “Duh.”

The bus pulled up to their stop and they disembarked. The park in front of them only had a few people in it. Karkat did an internal fist pump. Good planning for the win. He pulled up Pokemon Go and checked the map. 

“The Pokestop is at the fountain. Let’s go find a bench in range and camp out.” Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Terezi’s free hand and made a beeline for the fountain. There was a group of worn picnic tables by the fountain. Karkat nabbed a free one and dumped his backpack beside him. He tapped the blue Pokestop on the map, but before he spun the picture he noticed that the stop was basically swarmed with flower petals.

“What the fuck is this?”

“What?” Terezi paused from stabbing at her phone.

“All these fucking flower petals. What the fuck are they doing?”

“Oh.” Terezi said. “That’s a lure module. People can put them on Pokestops and they attract pokemon. Unlike incense, these are public so everyone around can use them. They last about a half hour, I think.” 

“How the fuck are you suddenly so knowledgeable?” Karkat grumbled. 

“I have the internet.” Terezi snarked. “And your welcome for the information, asshole.”

Karkat mumbled unintelligibly for a moment.

“What was that?”

“Thanks.” He crossed his arms, fully aware that despite being twenty-five years old, he looked like a pouting child. With the grace of a ballerina at the New York Ballet, Terezi dropped the subject. 

_________

 

Twelve Pidgeys, nine Rattatas, eight Weedles, four Drowzees, three Eevees, and one Jynx later, Terezi’s voice pierced through Karkat’s poketrance. “Hey Karkles, I’ve gotta find a bathroom. You need to go?”

Karkat shook his head. “No, I’ll wait ‘til you get back. Don’t want anyone taking our spot.” He paused. “Do you need help finding it?”

Terezi patted his shoulder. “I can find the bathroom by myself, don’t worry your cute little head.” Without waiting for an answer, she headed off. Karkat knew she would call if she had any trouble. Or created any. The second option was worryingly more likely.

The park had begun to fill with people who had decided this was a good place to camp out for a stop. He wondered if the word about the Scythers and Jynxs had gotten out.  
Karkat set down his phone and closed his eyes. His battery was already starting to drain. He wished he had gotten one of those solar phone chargers. He wanted to catch a Scyther so bad. Something about their curved arm blades pinged something in his brain that he couldn’t quite place. He just knew he had to have one.

His thoughts were interrupted by yet another voice. “Yo, is this seat taken? I heard this is the place to catch the sweetest pokemon outside a goddam sugar cane plantation.”

Without opening his eyes, Karkat answered. “Yes, its taken. Now go away.”

“I’m only askin’ out of formality, ‘cuz this seat looks as empty as a tourist trap on the side of a highway in the middle of a desert. No, Timmy. We are not going to the creepy abandoned building. Not unless you want to get hacked into a million pieces by a hillbilly in a clown mask. Is that what you want, Timmy? Is it?” The voice stopped, having seemingly run out of steam.

Karkat opened his eyes, only to gaze into a tall shadow silhouetted by the sun. He blinked, letting his eyes adjust. The figure was a man with white blond hair, aviator shades, full lips, and a jawline that could slice through granite. Karkat was absolutely not immediately attracted to him. He was NOT.

“Who. The. Fresh flying fuck. Are you.”

The man smirked. “Dave.” He leaned on the picnic table, tipping his head toward Karkat. “And you are?”

“None of your fucking business.” Karkat growled.

“Karkat. KARKAT! I just got a Dratini! A Dratini!” Terezi came bowling forward, almost mowing into Dave. “Oh, shit. Karkles. This is a dream come true!” She stopped suddenly when she noticed Dave.

“Karkat, who’s this?” Terezi sniffed at Dave. He gave her a small wave, then seemed to catch himself.

“Car-cat, eh?” The smirk was back.

Karkat ignored him. “This is nobody. He was just leaving.” Karkat’s arms crossed again, almost of their own volition.

Dave raised his voice over Karkat’s. “Dave Strider. Nice to meet you.” 

“Terezi Pyrope. Hey, your name sounds familiar!”

Dave stiffened, then forcibly relaxed. “Yeah.” He hesitated, glanced at Karkat. “Does it, I mean?”

Terezi’s forehead crinkled. “Yeah.” After a moment of thought, she brightened. “I heard you DJ at Blue Noir. You were really good!”

Dave visibly lit up and looked at Karkat before turning back to Terezi. It was so not adorable. At all. “You think so?” Again, he tried to make himself look relaxed. “I mean, yeah. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He raked a hand through his hair and adjusted his shades. “I have a gig Saturday night at Sburban Jungle. You can come if you want. Or not. Its cool.” 

Terezi turned to Karkat. “Let’s go, Karkles! We haven’t gone out at all this summer. We can get everyone together.” She clapped her hands together. “This is going to be awesome!”

Karkat shrugged. He thought that it did sound kind of fun to have a night out. Not that he was going to admit it. Just as he opened his mouth to answer as obnoxiously ambivalently as possible, his phone vibrated. It was a CP 408 MOTHERFUCKING SCYTHER!

“IT’S A MOTHERFUCKING SCYTHER!” Karkat shouted and threw up his hands, almost knocking his phone off the table. “Oh shit, okay. Don’t you dicksniffers dare distract me.”

Terezi and Dave both leaned in to watch…or listen. “Shit, shit. Okay.” Karkat breathed.

“Dude. Are you okay?” Dave asked. “Like, Scythers are the shit, but don’t die, bro.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Karkat tossed a Razzberry toward the Scyther. 

Step one, down. 

He tossed a pokeball. In his excitement, it veered sharply right. 

“FUCK!!” 

“Karkat, there are kids around!” Terezi whispered violently.

“Fuck, okay! I mean….Fudge, okay!”

Dave snorted. “Dude, really?”

They both ignored him. Karkat tossed another pokeball. It hit the Scyther, and sucked it in.

It wiggled once.

It wiggled twice.

Then burst back open.

“MOTHER…!” Terezi whacked his arm.

“OF PEARL!” Karkat finished.

Dave giggled. 

Why was he sticking around, anyways?

Karkat tried again.  
And again.  
And again.  
Scyther was too fucking strong.

Karkat was down to his last five pokeballs. He had to make them count.

“Dude, give it here. I have magic fucking fingers.” He wiggled said appendages. Then paused. “Not like, fucking fingers. I don’t fuck things with my fingers. Well, I mean maybe if you bought me a drink first.”

“OH MY GOD, FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY ON THIS EARTH, WILL YOU SHUT YOUR GAPING MAW!” Karkat shouted.

Dave shut his mouth.

Karkat tossed one more pokeball. It hit, then wiggled.

The red light on the pokeball went out. 

Gotcha.

“YESSSSSSSS. YES YES YES YES.” Karkat crowed, pumping his fists in the air. “SCYTHER YOU ARE MINE!”

Terezi gave Karkat a high five. “Good going! I know that is the one you wanted most! Now, since we have spent allll morning at your stop, I think it’s time we go to mine!”

Karkat nodded, coming down from his pokehigh. “Yeah, that’s fair. Thanks for waiting for me to get Scyther.”

Terezi smiled, her giant sharky grin softened to a baby shark grin. “Karkat, you’ve loved Scyther since you were 10. Of course we were gonna nab you one!”

Karkat hugged her impulsively. Then stepped back just as quickly, awkwardly scratching his neck. He grabbed his backpack. “Okay, let’s go.”

“So, I can finally sit at your table?” Dave asked, arching a pale eyebrow above his sunglasses.

“Yeah, whatever.” Karkat shrugged. He felt a weird twinge in his chest, suddenly not wanting to leave.

…

…………

………………

Dave was just really hot, okay?

“So, you’ll come on Saturday night?” Was that an edge of hope Karkat detected in Dave’s voice?

“Hell yeah!” Terezi answered. “What time do you go on?” 

“Uh, prolly ‘round 11 or so.” He nudged Karkat with his arm. “Be prepared for an oral orgasm, my man. Shit’s gonna get crazy.”

Both Karkat and Terezi stood stock still. “Be prepared for a..what?” Karkat asked, his voice stilted.

Dave reddened, his blush working its way from his neck all the way to his hairline. Even so, his voice remained cool. “An aural orgasm. As in, my music is going to be making sweet, tender love to your ears. You are gonna wish you brought protection but my notes are just gonna sweep you off your feet until you feel nothing but pleasure.” He paused. “In your ears.”

“Oh my god. We’re going, Terezi. We will be at your stupid show, Strider.” Karkat grabbed Terezi’s arm.   
“Have fun catching the Pokemon that everyone else already has.”

Dave gave a sarcastic salute, then pulled out his phone. Despite his lingering blush, he was immediately immersed in the world contained within.


	2. Always Listen to Kanaya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is daveless, but I promise that he will be coming back with a vengeance in the next chapter!
> 
> Anyways, here's Karkat interacting with a couple of awesome ladies.

After the park, Karkat and Terezi stopped at the Weeping Mother statue, where Terezi managed to snag three Charmanders in the space of 15 minutes. (because of fucking course she did, Karkat thought). While waiting for the stop to turn blue again, Karkat’s growling stomach gave voice to its loudest rumble yet.

Terezi snickered and poked his stomach. “Dang, Karkat. Did you swallow a Rottweiler? That is a lot of growling I hear!”

Karkat huffed. “Shut up, I’m hungry. Have you caught enough Charmanders yet? Or will we stay here forever, long past the date when the frail meat that encapsulates our brittle bones shrivels and falls off in a tragic hunger/dehydration induced death, the decomposition from our puddled flesh providing the energy to your phone that allows your bleached and somehow still animated skeleton to continuing to catch those hatefully lovable bastards from beyond the grave?”

Terezi patted his head. “Aww, you are so adorable when you are grumpy!”

Karkat swatted her hand away, pushing his hair down like that would help it look any less wild than usual.

“As it is,” Terezi continued, “I just caught another one, so I think I am good.” 

She paused. “For now.”

They both stood up and brushed off stray bits of grass. “Thank fuck. You mind if we go to Caffeine Apocalypse for lunch? Nepeta said there’s a stop nearby we can mooch off if we sit outside.”

“Sounds purritty good to me!”

Karkat grimaced. “Ugh, not you too with the puns.”

Terezi shrugged. “They grow on you! Do you think she’ll be working today?”

“I don’t know. Text her and find out.” They walked back to the bus stop where they had first gotten off. The bus they needed arrived quickly and again, Terezi managed to grab seats toward the front. Karkat didn’t know how she managed that. Maybe it was the way she managed to make her cane look more like a weapon than a walking aid. When he took the bus by himself he was always either stuck in the back or standing.

“So.” Terezi said after they sat down.

“So what?” Karkat grunted.

“That guy Dave was pretty funny, right?” She said, a blush working its way up her cheeks.

Karkat’s own face lit up with a blush. “Eh. He was whatever.”

“I wonder if he’s single?” She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

Karkat squirmed uncomfortably. He definitely wasn’t going to tell her that he MIGHT be attracted to Dave if she was already admitting to liking him. It shouldn’t even matter. Dave was probably straight anyways. “Ask him at his thing on Saturday.”

“Maybe I will! Or maybe I should make you do it since you shouted at him earlier.” She nudged his shoulder playfully.

“NO!” Karkat practically yelled. Terezi lifted her eyebrows at him.

“I just mean, I don’t want to talk to him. He was a too-cool-for-school douchecanoe. What even was with those shades?” Karkat mumbled.

“Karkat. It’s the middle of a bright, sunny day in July.”

“Okay, point.”

Terezi sat up straighter in her seat. “Anyways, I think getting everyone together to go to the club will be fun! It’s been ages since we all went out. Let’s meet at my apartment at 10:00. We can pregame before we head out.”

“Yeah. I’ll send a group text and tell everyone to come. Those crotchstained fuckpuppets all better make it.”

_________

 

The next couple days sped by in a haze of poke stops, poke gyms(why were they all valor?), and borderline heat stroke. Before Karkat knew it, it was Saturday night and he was standing in his boxers in front of his closet, debating what to wear. He knew his cousin, Kanaya, would be able to help, and might even be able to provide something flattering from her boutique, but he wasn’t sure if his pride would survive the inevitable fallout.

How much did he want to impress Dave? Not that it really mattered, he guessed. Maybe he should dress hot so he could find someone else to distract him. Fingers hovering over his phone, it suddenly rang, startling him out of his indecision.

Speak of the fashionably dressed devil. 

Karkat answered the phone. “Kanaya.”

“Karkat, hello. I am calling to inform you that I am coming over and deciding what you are wearing this evening.”

He bristled, even though he was literally just debating asking her for that very thing. “Why do you get to pick out my clothes like I’m a child?”

“Karkat. We both know that you secretly love it when I dress you up. Don’t pretend otherwise.” Kanaya’s voice somehow managed to be both soothing and mildly reproving.

“…You’re right. Sorry.”

“Of course. Now, open your door. I’m waiting outside.”

Still just in his boxers, Karkat walked to his front door and opened it. Kanaya stood in the entryway with a small bag from her boutique. She was already dressed for a night on the town in a slinky, red dress and heels that could kill a man. Karkat stood back to let her in.

“You look nice.” Karkat said. “Is Rose coming tonight?”

“Yes, she will meet us at the club.” Kanaya smoothed down the front of her dress and gave a small smile that shone in her eyes. “This is her favorite dress of mine. I thought I’d surprise her tonight by wearing it.”

Karkat reluctantly returned her smile. “You too are sickeningly cute together. Seriously. Repulsively adorable.”

Kanaya ushered him into his bedroom. “You are too kind.” She responded, her voice dry.

“So what abomination did you bring for me to wear tonight?” Karkat asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Only a finishing touch to an outfit you already own.” She replied, digging through his clothes to find what she wanted.

She paused and looked up. “Have I ever led you astray?”

Karkat crossed his arms and shook his head. Mollified, Kanaya went back to digging. Karkat waited on his bed as she pulled out a short sleeved, black button up shirt that he thought was a bit too small, black skinny jeans, and dark red Vans.

“Get dressed and I’ll show you what I brought.” Karkat obeyed, interested despite himself in seeing what Kanaya had in the bag.

She reached in the bag and pulled out a slate gray, dress vest. “Now put this on. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how you look.”

Karkat slid it over his shoulders and buttoned it up. Kanaya maneuvered him over to his mirror. Karkat looked...well he looked really fucking good, if he said so himself. The black complemented his olive skin, and the tight fit of the shirt and jeans make him appear long and lean. The vest made him look like he actually had style.

“I am pleasantly surprised at how I look. Thank you, Kanaya.”

Kanaya preened at the praise and grinned. “You are welcome. I am sure from now on you will finally trust all of my fashion decisions.” She eyed him in the mirror and frowned. “If previous experience is anything to go by, I suppose there is nothing we can do about your hair.”

Karkat snorted. “Yeah, good fucking luck with that.”

Kanaya hummed thoughtfully and bit her lip. “I do have one more suggestion for your appearance.”

He rose a dubious eyebrow.

“If you are amenable, we might try just a touch of eyeliner.” Kanaya proposed, hope lifting her voice an octave.

For a long moment, they stared at each other in the mirror. 

Finally, Karkat rolled his eyes in acquiescence. “...Why the fuck not.” He always ended up giving in to Kanaya. He had no backbone.

She dug out her eyeliner and applied a fine line on the outer edges of Karkat’s eyes. When she was finished, Karkat looked at himself in the mirror. He couldn’t really tell that he was wearing eyeliner. It just made his eyes look, well, better. 

“Now try not to rub your eyes. It will smudge the eyeliner and ruin the look.” Karkat nodded, not wanting to tell Kanaya again how good her judgement was on dressing him up.

“It’s almost ten. Let’s head over to Terezi’s. Knowing her, she’s already got shots lined up for everyone.” Karkat went to rub his eyes, but stopped himself at the last second. “We are going to get so fucking stupid tonight, I know it.”


	3. There's a mime in the club?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Excessive Drinking in this chapter!
> 
> Everyone is over 21 in this fic.
> 
> Drinking as many long islands as Karkat does is a pretty terrible decision, fyi.

“One more shot before we go!” 

“Terezi, no!” Karkat groaned. He was already feeling the last three shots and did not want to get sick before they even got to the club.

“Terezi, yes!” Terezi shouted in reply, then knocked back another shot of Whipped Cream flavored vodka.

Determined not to be outdone, Karkat grimaced and downed his shot. This really was atrociously easy to drink. Their friends, Vriska, Nepeta, and Tavros, followed suit. Vriska worked at the high school with Terezi, and when she wasn’t at her summer job as a barista, Nepeta was the librarian at the middle school that Karkat worked at. Tavros was the only one of their friends that worked in an elementary school. Kanaya stood with Equius, Nepeta’s sweaty platonic life partner, and watched by the door. Everyone else who was going out were planning on meeting them at Sburban Jungle.

“Okay, losers! Let’s blow this popsicle stand!” Vriska announced, grabbing Terezi’s hand and shoving past Kanaya and Equius and out the door. Everyone else shuffled out behind them. Karkat checked to make sure Terezi’s door was locked before catching up to them. The bus had just arrived and everyone piled on. Karkat’s head was swimming from the four shots. He was pleased to note that his stomach was not.

“Rose texted me and has informed me that herself and several of the others are already in the club. She said they acquired a table and await our arrival.”

Karkat nodded absently, more interested in trying to swipe the Pokestops they drove by. By the time the bus got to the stop by the club, it was almost 11:00. The line to get in the club extended down the block. 

“Maaaybe we should have got here before 11:00.” Terezi conceded.

“No shit.” Karkat grumbled. “Okay, so it’s a long shot, but we should go to the front and see if Strider remembered either of our names long enough to put them on the list.”

“Good idea!” Without hesitation, Terezi bounded forward to the front of the line.

“Good Evening, Sir! We would like to see if our names are on the list to get in?” The bouncer stared at her, raising an eyebrow. 

“Terezi Pyrope and Karkat.” Karkat replied, realizing that he never gave Dave his last name. “And friends.” He added, mentally crossing his fingers that this would work.

The bouncer’s other eyebrow went up to join the first. “Terezi Pyrope. You are good to get in.” He turned to Karkat. “Does the name Karkles mean anything to you?” Terezi burst out laughing and Karkat reddened. 

“Unfortunately.” He replied through gritted teeth.

The bouncer smirked and unclipped the velvet rope. “I need to see your IDs, then you and your friends can come in.”

“Come on, guys!” Terezi yelled back at their friends, still chuckling. “Oh my god. That was beautiful, Karkles. When we get a chance, I am totally giving Dave a high five.”

Karkat ignored her and dug out his Driver’s license. He showed it to the bouncer and was stamped on the hand with a house shaped emblem. As he waited for his friends to get through, he sorted through his emotions. His current embarrassment was not even remotely conflicting with his desire to see Dave again. Karkat still knew there was no reason to get his hopes up though, so he decided that he would just not pay attention to Dave, even if he was the whole reason they were at this club.

________

Kanaya managed to locate their friends’ table right away. At the table was Rose, John, Sollux, and Aradia. All of whom, except Aradia, worked at the same school as Karkat. Rose stood up to greet Kanaya, leaving her seat next to John open. Never one to let an opportunity slide, Karkat plopped sloppily down into her vacated seat.

“Hey, Karkat!” John beamed. “How’s your summer going?”

“I am now a literal Pokemon trainer. It is the best summer of my goddamn life.”

John laughed, his head tossed back in amusement. “You are too funny, Karkat!”

Karkat wasn’t joking.

“I’m going to need a drink to deal with you assmaggots.” He stood up, swayed a bit, and turned to John. “Want anything?”

“No thanks, Karkat! I’m still working on this one!” He indicated a half full, frozen strawberry margarita the size of a blender. It had at least three colorful umbrellas haphazardly sticking out. No wait, make that four umbrellas. Karkat opened his mouth to comment, then shut it. Insults just slid right off John.

He looked around to see if anyone else wanted a drink, but saw that everyone he arrived with had already abandoned him for the bar. Karkat harrumphed, then followed. He elbowed his way to the counter, but the bartenders were all busy. As he waited his turn, he debated exactly how shitfaced he wanted to get.

All of a sudden, most of the colorful spotlights in the club focused on one area. It was the DJ Booth, which was along the back wall and situated up a flight of stairs.   
The music lowered a fraction and a voice announced. “Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Hoes and Bros! Are we having a good time tonight?” The crowd cheered, people holding up drinks that spilled over the side and onto their neighbors.

“I SAID.” The voice paused. “ARE WE HAVING A GOOD TIME TONIGHT?” The crowd screamed louder, surely deafening anyone unlucky enough to be in a five-mile radius.

Karkat decided that he wanted to get extra shitfaced tonight.

“That’s what I like to hear! Now, we are lucky enough tonight to get the baddest DJ in town. His beats are illest I’ve ever heard! Give it up for DAAAAVE STRIIIIDER!” Dave stepped into the light shining in the booth, and immediately changed the music to a live remix of a popular song. He was still wearing those godforsaken shades, and he looked even better than Karkat remembered.

That jawline, god.

Just as that thought dragged its gross feet across Karkat’s brain, Dave looked up, right at Karkat. For a moment, Karkat wasn’t sure if Dave actually saw him, but Dave lifted a hand and gave the same little salute as when they met. Still unsure, Karkat flipped Dave off. Dave draped his arm across his forehead and pretended to swoon, all while still fiddling with something on the tables with his other hand. Yup, he sure as fuck saw Karkat.

Karkat decided that he wanted to get super extra shitfaced tonight.

He pointedly turned to the bar. One of the bartenders had finally made his way over to where Karkat was standing. He ordered two long island iced teas. Both for himself.  
He turned around and faced the crowd, scanning it for anyone he knew.

“Ooooh, is one of those for me?” Terezi bumped into him from the side, nearly knocking the drinks out of his hand. How she knew he was holding two drinks, he would never know.

“No, get your own.”

“Aww.” She pouted.

Karkat huffed and handed one over. “Yay!!” Terezi cheered. She took a long drink and leaned into Karkat. “The music Dave is playing sounds really good, dontcha think?”

Karkat shrugged. “It’s not really my kind of music. I wouldn’t know.”

“Come on, Karkat! Don’t be a Grumpy Gary! You can tell if you are enjoying the music or not!”

“Eh. It’s okay.” 

“Pssh.” She waved her flaming hair out of her face. “Want to dance?”

“I need to be way more drunk for that.” Karkat replied honestly.

“Suit yourself!” Terezi answered, and disappeared into the crowd. Karkat chugged his long island, and turned back to the bar for another.

After he had gotten a new drink, he stumbled back to the table, where Kanaya was sitting by herself.

“WheressRose?” Karkat slurred. He figured that last long island got him to point of extra shitfaced now. One more drink and he’d get to super.

“She went to the restroom.” Kanaya looked at Karkat. “Are you doing all right?”

“Yeshh.” He ran his tongue around his teeth. His teeth felt weird. “Yes.”

“Okay.” She replied dubiously, a frown turning the corners of her mouth downwards. 

Karkat pulled out his phone to check Pokemon Go. He was curious as to what kind of Pokemon would be at a club. He giggled at the mental image of Pidgeys flying around the ceiling and Rattatas running around the feet of screaming dancers. He blinked his eyes a few times and clicked on the box in the lower right hand corner of the app.

Was..was he seeing that right?

“Ohmgod. OH MY GOD!” 

Kanaya turned to him, lifting an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“Theresh a Mime in here!” 

“There’s a mime in the club?” Kanaya looked around, craning her neck trying to locate this elusive mime.

“NO! There’s a Mr. Mime. Y’know, the Pokemon?” Karkat practically buzzed with excitement.

“Karkat, you really shouldn’t be playing your game here. I don’t know if it is safe for you to wander around by yourself like this.” Kanaya said, the disapproving note in her voice obscured by the music Dave was playing.

Ignoring her, Karkat checked the little footsteps by the Mr. Mime silhouette. It was blurry, but he was pretty sure there was only one footstep. “Ima find it. He’s gonna be my best friend. If anyone asks, you need to tell ‘em! Tell ‘em I found Mr. Mime!” 

Karkat got up and dove drunkingly into the writhing crowd, frantically checking his phone to see if the little footstep went away, which would indicate Mr. Mime’s imminent presence.

As Karkat neared the enclosed podium where Dave was DJing, he noticed with dread that he was indeed approaching Mr. Mime. All he had to do to make him appear was to climb the steps. Where Dave was DJing. Where Dave would surely notice him and make fun of him. Where Karkat would have to get up close and see that sharp jawline again. Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, Karkat stumbled sideways. Trying again, he took another deep breath and began the treacherous ascent up the stairs.

Crouching down low so as not to be seen, Karkat crawled up each step, hoping that the pokemon would appear and he could stop climbing. He had no such luck. He made it to the top of the stairs, eyes glued to his phone. Karkat stood up, only swaying a little bit. Success! There was Mr. Mime! 

He raised his phone to get a picture before he caught it, when instead of snapping a pic solely of Mr. Mime’s glorious visage, he took a picture of Mr. Mime perched precariously on Dave’s head.

Okay, so even Karkat could admit that turned out better than his wildest dreams. He hoped the picture wasn’t too blurry.

Ignoring Dave’s stupid, attractive face, Karkat got down to business. Or tried to.

“What the hell are you doing?” Dave asked, raising his voice above the music. “Not that I’m not thrilled to see you all up in my business like we just did a deal merging our two successful companies, and everyone needs to go to training to get the logistics of two companies becoming one, except for Stan, who needs to go to HR for trying to sex up his new secretary.” He paused, giving Karkat a blatant once over. “But what the hell are you doing?”

Karkat tried to fight down a blush. He lost. “I am here to get my aural orgasm, you raw piece of chicken in a questionable order of lo mein.” Nice, he said all of those words without slurring! Good job, Karkat!

Wait.

Aural orgasm.  
Oh god, did he really just bring that up? 

Dave’s mouth dropped open. Before he could say anything else embarrassing or revealing, he motioned to his phone and blurted, “There’s a Mr. Mime in your booth.”

“Dude.” Dave abandoned any pretense of continuing to DJ, and pulled out his phone. “Oh fuzzy baby ducklings, this is the best night of my life.”

They both stopped talking, focused on capturing their mimes. 

Despite his terrible aim and blurry vision, Karkat got his first. He only used, like, 20 Ultra Balls. “Fuck yeah! Okay, it was sooo worth coming out tonight.”

Dave looked up from his phone, having just got his own Mr. Mime. He pouted, his lips shaped in an upside down U. “And here I thought I’d be enough. I’m heartbroken, Karkles. You just put my heart through a grinder and can now make heart sausage out if it. Every time you take a bite you will taste my tears. I hope you are happy.”

Karkat rolled his eyes. That was a mistake. He had to lean onto Dave to stop himself from falling over. “You’re so fuckin’ weird.”

“You like it.” Dave poked Karkat’s arm. “I’m totally winking right now, btw.”

“Whatever, dickblister. Get back to work.”

Dave started violently, dislodging Karkat in the process, and turned back to his tables. “Shit.”

Karkat straightened up and started to leave, but Dave reached out and grabbed his arm before he could move. “Stay ‘til I’m done, yeah? I’ll come find you and we can hang out.”

Dave’s touch sparked something in Karkat’s chest. His heart leapt into his throat and stole his ability to speak. Freaking out internally, he nodded quickly, then wormed his way out of Dave’s grasp and ran down the stairs, tripped, got back up, ran through the crowd and into the bathroom. When he got to the sink, he splashed water on his face and stared in the smudged mirror.

“Goddamnit, get ‘hold of yourself, you drunk bastard.” He scolded himself.

A toilet flushed behind him. The thought of being caught acting like an emotional loser and talking to himself in the mirror, had Karkat panicked. He ran out of the bathroom without drying his face or hands and dove into the crowd, searching for any of his friends. He found Terezi and Nepeta dancing together. He grabbed Terezi’s drink (another long island) and chugged it. She laughed. “You finally ready to party, Karkat?”

“Fuck it, let’s dance.” He handed the empty glass back to Terezi and grabbed Nepeta’s hands.

She snatched them back quickly. “Eww, Karkitty! Why are you all wet?” He pulled his hands back and wiped them halfassedly on his shirt. He made to grab her hands again, but Nepeta avoided them. “I’m going to find Equius! He can dance with us!” She ducked away into the crowd.

Terezi swatted Karkat’s shoulder. “Good going, numbskull! You scared her off!” 

She drew her hand away and shook it, wrinkling her nose. “Why ARE you so wet?” 

So maybe Karkat got more water all over himself than he originally thought. He shrugged. “Washed my face. Its so greasy in here.” 

“Gross.” She complained, cackling. “You owe me a dance, Mister!”

She threw her hands in the air and started jumping to the music. Karkat wondered where the empty glass went. His eyes found their way back to the DJ Booth, where they met Dave’s. Had Dave been watching him this whole time? The thought made him shiver.

All at once, the last long island hit him. Shiiit.

He was definitely drunk enough to dance now.

Karkat waved his arms in the air, and lost himself in the music. The music that Dave was playing.

He guessed it wasn’t so bad after all.  
____________

Karkat had no idea how long they danced for, completely lost in the music and the rhythm of attractive people dancing all around them. Eventually Terezi had yelled that she wanted to sit down, so he grabbed her hand and they headed back to their table. The only ones there were Nepeta and Equius. 

“Where is everybody?” Karkat asked Nepeta. Sitting down made him dizzy. The room started spinning around them.

“Evfurrybody else is either still dancing, or went home. I’m purritty sure that Rose, Kanaya, and John left.”

“Oh.” Karkat looked around, the club was slowly emptying out. He checked his phone. It was 2:30 in the morning. Looking at his phone reminded him of earlier. Oh god, he can’t believe he forgot to tell Terezi!

“Terezi!” Karkat yelled, even though she was sitting right by him.

“Ow, what?” She answered, rubbing her ear.

“I caught a Mr. Mime with Dave earlier!”

“What? You were with Dave earlier? When?” She leaned in closer to Karkat.

“Before we were dancing. There was a Mr. Mime in his booth! Check your phone, maybe you can get one too!” Karkat sat up, in his excitement, he did not notice a voice announcing something on the speakers.

“I can’t believe you talked to Dave and didn’t tell me! AND you got a Mr. Mime! How rude!” She complained, but got out and unlocked her phone. Karkat snatched it from her and checked Pokemon Go to see if she could still get a Mr. Mime. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Nepeta and Equius also checking their phones. He felt vaguely guilty about not mentioning it before.

Oh man, Sollux was going to kill him.

“Yeah, Karkat. So rude. Hogging the joyous experience of Pokemon mimes to yourself, like the world’s biggest mime collector. People come from all over to see your massive pile of Mr. Mimes, only to have you charge 14.50 for admission.” A voice drawled from beside the table. Karkat looked up. It was Dave.

“You were the one with access to the sound system. You could’ve announced it.” Karkat retorted.

“Karkat!” Terezi interrupted, elbowing him in the side. “Hi, Dave! Your music was incredible tonight!”

“Thanks, doll.” Dave pointed a finger gun at Terezi. He turned to Karkat. “What about you, Karkles? Did my sick beats meet or exceed expectations?”

“N. For Needs Improvement.”

Dave held his hand in front of his heart. “Ouch, man. Tell me what you really feel.” Karkat could tell Dave was trying for sarcasm, but he heard a note of genuine hurt in Dave’s voice.

Karkat stumbled to fix it. “I mean, I guess it was okay. If you are in to that type of music.” Karkat rubbed his arm guiltily. “It is easy to dance to, I’ll give you that much.”

The way Dave’s face lit up at the compliment would be almost funny, if it didn’t make Karkat’s heart squeeze with fondness.

“Alright nerds, I’m starving! Let’s go pick up some Taco Bell and head back to my place.” Terezi’s voice made both of them jump. She turned to Dave and grinned.

“You should come too, Dave!”

He glanced at Karkat before responding. “Hell yeah. I would kill a man for some cheap tacos.”

“Nepeta and I are going to call it a night.” Equius interjected. Karkat was pretty sure this was the first time he had said anything to them all night.

“Awww.” Nepeta pouted.

“You have work tomorrow, Nepeta.” Equius reminded her, taking a hold of her arm and gently pulling her out of the booth.

“Oh rats, you’re right!” She sighed. “You guys have fun!” They left, leaving Terezi, Karkat, and Dave all by themselves.

Oh joy.

Terezi’s enthusiasm was momentarily dampened when the pair left, but she quickly regained it. She pushed Karkat out of the booth and crawled out behind him.

“Last one to Taco Bell is a rotten egg!” She bounded toward the exit. Dave and Karkat looked at each other for a moment, then raced after her.


	4. It's you and me

After a quick trip to Taco Bell to snag a truly gratuitous amount of tacos, (“No, Dave. I am not giving you a piggyback ride so we can use the drive-through.”) the three made their way back to Terezi’s apartment.

They got to the living room and dumped their half empty taco bags on the coffee table. “So…anyone want another drink?” Terezi asked, waggling her eyebrows.

Karkat deliberated a moment. He was already going to hate himself in the morning. He shrugged. “Why not.”

Dave nodded. “I’m game.”

Terezi grinned. “Great! Karkat, you get to make them.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Make the guest do all the work.” Karkat complained, but got up anyways.

“A guest? Please.” Terezi waved her hand at him, shooing him to the kitchen. “You know where everything is.”

Dave moved to follow him. “I’ll can help. I’m magic in the kitchen.” He smirked. “And in the bedroom.”

“That was the most pants shittingly worst line I’ve ever heard.” Karkat replied. 

Dave lifted one shoulder. “They don’t call me Merlin for nuthin’.”

Terezi huffed. “Harry Potter, you are staying in here. You gotta help me pick out what we are going to put on.”

Dave thought for a moment. “Got anything that can hook up to Netflix? ‘Cuz I know exactly what we’re gonna watch.”

Karkat stopped listening to them and stepped into the tiny kitchen. The Whipped Cream flavored vodka was still out, so he stuck his head in the fridge and grabbed a mostly full 2-liter of 7 Up. He mixed the drinks, put a couple of ice cubes in them, and hauled them back into the living room, where he was greeted with the opening notes to Pokemon: Indigo League.

“Oh fuck yes.”

Karkat handed over their drinks and eagerly sat down on the couch next to Dave.

Dave took a sip and nodded approvingly. “Drinking game, anyone? I’ve got a good one for this.”

Karkat shuddered, thinking of the inevitable hospital visit if they decided to play. “Um, no. I may be the most worthless conglomeration of diseased cells ever to besmirch this contaminated planet, but even so, I don’t want to die in a congealed puddle of my own smelly vomit tonight.”

“Dude.” Dave replied reverently. “Every single word out of your mouth is a gift to mankind.”

“Both of you, shut up! I can’t hear over your blabbering!” Terezi whacked Dave’s arm, almost spilling his drink. Karkat cleared his throat pointedly, and they both quietly settled back into the cushions.

________

About halfway through the second episode, Dave stretched his arm behind Karkat’s back, not quite touching his shoulders. Karkat’s heart rate went up a notch. He took a couple of gulps from his drink and shifted in his seat. He didn’t want to say anything in case Dave removed his arm, and he didn’t really know if Dave put it by Karkat on purpose or not. He sat through the rest of the episode flailing internally and downing his drink. When the credits rolled, Karkat jumped out of his spot and set the rest of his drink down.

“You leaving?” Dave asked, tilting his head.

“What no, just gotta use the bathroom.” Karkat gestured toward the other room.

Dave nodded. “I’ll pause it for ya. Don’ wantcha to miss nuthin’.”

Karkat nodded back, and escaped to the bathroom. If he didn’t get a break from the proximity to Dave soon, he was going to do something stupid. He couldn’t stop thinking about him. Like what would happen if he leaned into Dave. Would Dave let him? Would he let him do anything else?

Karkat used the toilet and flushed. He washed his hands and looked at his reflection in the mirror. The eyeliner from earlier was smudged, and he had dark circles under his eyes. He basically looked like a raccoon fresh from the dumpster. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about Dave being attracted to him, he thought.

He opened the door, but paused before heading back to the living room. Karkat needed to be careful. For all he knew, Dave liked Terezi, not him. And that would be for the best, since Terezi liked him back. With that thought to steel himself with, he walked back to the living room. 

Terezi was stone cold passed out on Dave’s shoulder.

Dave's eyebrows rose above his glasses. “Um, wanna help me get her to bed?” He asked.

“Sure.” Karkat bent down, and picked her up bridal style. It was a good thing she was so light, otherwise he would have really embarrassed himself. He stood back up and waited for Dave to follow.

“Can you get the light on in the hallway?” Karkat asked.

Dave scrambled to get ahead of him. “The switch is on the left side. There.” Dave flipped the switch, allowing Karkat to carry Terezi to her room without bumping into anything. He set her gently on her side on top of the messy bed, took off her glasses, and covered her with the comforter. “Go grab a glass of water. I’m gonna get some medicine for her for when she wakes up.”

Dave nodded and left for the kitchen. Karkat went to the master bathroom and rummaged around for some Advil. Popping the cap off of the bottle, he left a couple pills on her bedside table. He was setting a trash can by the bed when Dave came back in. Karkat took the glass from his hands, and set it by the medicine. He turned to Dave and ushered him out of the room, following close behind. Karkat kept the door propped open so they could hear her if she needed them.

When they got back, Dave plopped down in the middle of the couch. Karkat had no choice but to sit right by him again. Dave grabbed the controller and fiddled with it, but didn’t press play.

“Are you and Terezi together?” Dave asked, his voice unsure.

Karkat shook his head, half surprised that Dave hadn’t asked before. “No. I had a crush on her when we were kids, but thankfully she put me in my place.” He smiled with the memory. Terezi had actually let him down easy compared to some of the verbal lacerations he had seen her inflict. He eventually moved on, and they had remained friends. 

Dave blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh, okay. Cool.”

They sat in awkward silence for a moment, looking at each other. Karkat’s anxiety increased with every beat of his heart. Dave was still wearing those damn shades. Karkat had an abrupt, hysterical desire to rip them off.

“Terezi likes you.” Karkat blurted.

Dave looked taken aback. “Um. Okay.” 

“Yeah.” He paused. His blood was pounding in his temples. “She thinks you’re funny.” He added, dreading the return of silence. 

Karkat sat back and hugged his arms to his chest. He didn’t have to wait ‘til morning to hate himself anymore. At least Terezi would be happy, right?

Dave scooted closer to Karkat, his lips parted and head tilted forward. Voice barely a rumble, he asked, “What do you think of me?”

Karkat’s eyes darted to Dave’s mouth. He licked his lips and blinked sluggishly. “I think…” 

"Ding!" Dave’s phone lit up and pinged loudly with a message, startling them both.

The spell broken, Karkat panicked. Terezi was asleep in her room, and he was in her living room about to kiss the guy she liked.

He stood up. “I think I need to go.” Karkat grabbed his phone and practically leapt for the door.

“Karkat, wait!” Dave called after him.

Karkat paused, and stared at Dave for a moment, his blood singing at him to go back. But he knew better than to listen. He turned away and shut the door behind him.

He ran for home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are curious, the drinking game Dave suggests a simplified version of Alternate Game 2 from this handy-dandy site:
> 
> http://www.drinkiwiki.com/Pokemon
> 
> I say simplified, because I think that the regular version would actually kill anyone who played!


	5. Oh, You're My Best Friend

Karkat slammed the door to his apartment shut and slumped against it. He had run all the way home, and his legs were about to give out from exhaustion. Now completely sober and able to examine his feelings, he found that he was both relieved and disappointed that Dave didn’t come after him. Also, he was absolutely fucking furious at himself.

What the fuck was he thinking? He almost let himself get carried away. He almost kissed Dave! Even now, after he literally ran away from it, the thought of being that close to what he wanted, to Dave, sent anxious shivers down his spine.

Karkat smacked his head against the door. He didn’t even know Dave, not really. Why was he so affected by him? He stood up, and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. He drank it slowly, trying to calm himself down. Eventually, his heart rate slowed and his eyes and head drooped. 

Lifting his head, he noticed that sunlight had started to peek through the blinds above his sink. What time even was it? His phone, battery almost dead, showed it to be just after 6 o’clock in the morning. Holy shit. Karkat didn’t even know the last time he had stayed up that late.

Exhaustion and loneliness weighing heavily on him, Karkat went to the bathroom, washed his face, and brushed his teeth. He plodded into his bedroom and stripped down to his boxers, leaving his clothes in a puddle on the floor. Karkat dragged himself forward and fell face first on his bed. He was out before he hit the mattress.

________

 

Karkat regained consciousness in stages. First, the light in his dreams became brighter. Then they faded, leaving a muddled confusion in their wake. Finally, Karkat opened his eyes, squinting at the pattern of light and shadows playing on his ceiling. Why did he feel a sense of impending doom? Ugh, he was still so tired. He reached over to his bedside table to check his phone, but it wasn’t there. 

Assuming that it was still in his pants on the floor, Karkat flopped half off his bed trying to reach his phone. His feet still hanging on the bed, he inched his way to his pants on his elbows and dug through the pockets til he found it. The battery was dead. He plugged it into his charger by his bed, and immediately fell back asleep.

When he woke up for the second time, he was instantly assaulted by memories of the night before. 

Oh, fuck. 

He checked the time on his phone. It was 6:30 pm. He had slept for over 12 hours. That was almost double the amount he normally got. Underneath the time, the screen showed that he had a bunch of new messages. He unlocked his phone and started to go through the list.

Kanaya: I Am Sorry We Did Not Say Good-Bye Last Night. We Waited At The Table For Some Time, But Eventually Decided To Head Home. Please Send Me A Response When You Wake Up.

 

John: hey karkat! i’m sorry we didn’t get to hang out much last night! you were so busy dancing with all the ladies! ;)))) i heard you met my best buddy dave. anyways, us palhonchos need to have some quality brotime soon! :)

 

Terezi: K4RK4T! C4LL M3! W3 N33D T0 T4LK!

 

Unknown Number: hey man its dave i swiped your number from terezi  
Unknown Number: she was all like swiper no swiping  
Unknown Number: but i hella swiped that shit anyway  
Unknown Number: the word swiping looks weird as fuck now  
Unknown Number: anyways i get if you dont wanna talk to me but i think we should do it  
Unknown Number: talk that is  
Unknown Number: there be hells of miscommunication up in this bitch  
Unknown Number: so text me back if you want  
Unknown Number: and if you dont want text back anyways

A little overwhelmed, Karkat replied first to Kanaya with a quick text, letting her know he was fine and that he would call her later. He ignored John for now, though his mention of Dave felt a little ominous.

He bypassed Dave’s wall of text entirely, and with a pit in his stomach, he decided shoot himself in the foot and call Terezi. 

“Karkat! It’s so late! Did you just get up?” Terezi sounded normal, not upset like he thought she would be. Karkat wondered if that meant he would get out of what he anticipated to be super uncomfortable conversation.

“Um. Yeah.” He responded. What could he say to make sure last night never came up?

“Have you text Dave back?” And just like that, Karkat’s hope was shattered like a bouncy ball dipped in liquid nitrogen and thrown against the wall.

“What? No!” Karkat nearly yelled. “I called you as soon as I saw your text.” He frantically stumbled over his words. “I wouldn’t..I’m not…” He stopped, unable to defend himself when he had already gotten so close to doing something stupid.

Karkat could hear Terezi blow out a breath. “Okay, I thought you might be freaking out. I guess I have to knock some sense into you! Get yourself cleaned up and meet me at Caffeine Apocalypse in an hour. No arguments!” She hung up before Karkat could respond.

Dread sinking low into his stomach, Karkat pulled at his hair. He absolutely did not want to have this conversation, but he owed it to Terezi to fess up. Glancing at this phone, he realized he would have to move quickly if he was going to meet her on time. 

_____________

 

Karkat got off the bus and walked toward the coffeeshop where Terezi was waiting. He could see her sitting at a table outside, chatting with Nepeta. He straightened his back, and marched over. When she saw him coming, Nepeta waved, said something to Terezi, and went inside. 

Terezi called him over. “Karkat. Sit down.” She kicked out her leg to move the empty chair, almost knocking it over.

Once he sat down, she handed him a cup of coffee and slid a bacon quiche to his side of the table. There was only a couple of bites taken out of the quiche. He bowed his head. He didn’t deserve a friend like her.

Taking a bolstering sip of coffee, Karkat decided to just let it out. “Terezi. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Save it, Karkles.” Terezi interrupted and pointed her finger at him. “You are going to shut your trap and listen to me for once.”   
He shrunk down into his seat. “Okay.”

“I talked to Dave this morning. We had an illuminating conversation. A real heart-to-heart.” 

Karkat slid even further down his chair.

Terezi scooted her chair forward. Her voice gentled. “He’s crazy about you, Karkat.”

Startled, he opened his mouth to respond, but Terezi continued, her voice calm and clear. “And I think you feel the same way about him.”

Terror and guilt worked their way up his throat. “Terezi, I…” He paused, at a loss for words. He couldn’t lie to her.

She reached over the table and grasped his hand. “I know you think you are looking out for me, but do you really think I would stand in the way of this, all for a passing crush?”

Karkat stared at her, stumped. “But you like him.”

“I do. But I love you.” She squeezed his hand, then released it and sat back. “Besides, he isn’t the only one who has caught my interest.”

“What, really?” Karkat wasn’t sure if he could believe her. 

To his amazement, Terezi blushed. “I’ve kind of liked her for a while.”

“Are you fucking with me right now?…Who is it?” Was Terezi being serious? Then again, Karkat never knew her to lie.

“Um.. Not quite ready to say.” If anything, she blushed harder.

Karkat was flabbergasted. This was pretty much the opposite of how he imagined this meeting to turn out.

“My sweet grandmother’s flapping arm skin, I can’t believe it.” He finally took a bite of the quiche, which by this point was almost cold. “I’ve been doing an energetic aerial maneuver off the handle for no fucking reason, haven’t I?” 

The shark grin was back. “You sure as hell have been.” She reached across the table to steal a bite. “It’s a good thing you have me around to keep your head on straight.”

“Well, I don’t know about straight…” A smile tugged at his mouth. Terezi smacked his arm.

“Now that we have that settled, want to wander around town looking for Pokemon? I have a 10k egg that I need to incubate.”

“The only way I would ever say no to that is if malicious parasites had eaten the gooey rivulets of my gray matter and the liquefied remains oozed out of my ears and stained my shirt.” He stood up, the weight of his guilt had evaporated and with that gone, Karkat was left buoyant and excitable. “Let’s go.”  
________

The next couple of days passed in much the same manner as the rest of the summer, that is to say, uneventfully. By Wednesday, Karkat was determined to make contact with Dave. He picked up his phone, but fiddled with the case instead of doing anything productive. He knew he should text Dave back. He wanted to text Dave back. But. What the fuck would he say? ‘Hey, I think you are stupid hot and I want to jump your bones’? or ‘I don’t know what you said to Terezi, but whatever it did make me finally think that maybe I have a chance with you’ or maybe ‘I think I’m falling in love with you’.

Yet again, Karkat was filled with anxiety. He decided to push back his no doubtedly stupid response and go on a Pokestop tour.

He got on the bus and decided to get off wherever he found the most stops. He ended up getting off downtown, where he walked for blocks spinning stop after stop, riding the high of a successful pokeball hoarder. Karkat eventually found himself at Lakeside Park, where he first met Dave. Thoughts of responding to him anchored firmly in his brain, Karkat walked to the picnic table where he had sat with Terezi last week.

Someone was sitting at the table.

It was Dave.

So many emotions swirled inside of Karkat that it left him paralyzed. Staring at Dave’s fair hair produced an intense longing inside of Karkat’s gut. As if he sensed someone watching him, Dave turned around. When he saw Karkat, his lips parted in surprise. 

Karkat’s first instinct was to flee, but he knew that he couldn’t. He marched toward Dave purposefully, pretending that he didn’t want to be near him with every fiber of his being. Without asking, he sat at the opposite side of the table, facing Dave.

Being this near to Dave, Karkat’s false bravado faltered. He sat there awkwardly, wracking his brain but coming up with nothing to say.

Dave set down his phone on the table. “You never texted me back.”

Karkat looked down at his hands and glanced up at Dave. “I didn’t know what to say.”

“Hello would have been a start.” Dave said, his voice void of intonation.

Karkat played with a splinter sticking out of the wood. His chest was so full with emotion he was surprised he didn’t explode. “Yeah, I guess it would have.”

They both sat there, saying nothing. Silence reigned. Karkat didn’t know where to go from here.

“I’m gonna be DJing again on Saturday.” Dave said, hesitation guiding his every word.

Karkat looked up. He wished he could see Dave’s eyes. “Where at?”

Dave picked at the table. “Duodecim Angelus. I’m on at midnight.” 

Dave’s life was so different from his. Even if they managed to work this out, how on earth would it last?

Karkat decided that he didn’t care.

“I’ll be there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you already guessed who Terezi has the hots for despite my textual blundering, you get a gold star and my eternal love.   
> Well you get that anyway for reading this fic. Maybe you get a fake mustache that you can wear in public and act like it aint no thing.   
> If you didn’t guess it…..its Nepeta. I ship Terezi/Nepeta like they are the titanic after it has broken in two, and my love for them can put the sunken ship back together and make it float.


	6. Always Listen to Kanaya Pt II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Back to the booze and bars and such in this chapter. If that’s not your cup of tea, then this fic is probably pretty terrible for you and I would stay away.

Karkat texted Terezi to let her know both that he had talked to Dave and that they were going out Saturday. She promised to get a group together and told him not to worry about it. He tried to listen, he really did.

In a fit of anxious anticipation, Karkat scrubbed his apartment from top to bottom. He did laundry, and even reorganized his collection of rom coms. When he couldn’t think of anything else to do, he stared at his closet, wishing he could just wear the same outfit as last time since he knew he looked good in it. He texted Kanaya, complimenting her fashion skills and pleading for help. Karkat needed to look his best and he knew that Kanaya was the only one who could help him. He was so glad to have her as his friend, and he texted her as much. 

She responded a couple of hours later, her answer both promising and ominous.

Kanaya: Do You Trust Me?

Karkat: OF FUCKING COURSE I TRUST YOU. I WOULDN’T BE ASKING FOR YOUR HELP IF I DIDN’T.

Kanaya: Then Leave Everything To Me. Come Over To My Apartment Saturday Evening. I Will Make Sure You Look Your Best.

Karkat: …THANKS.

He set his phone down and stretched. Taking a look at his reordered movie collection, he realized that he hadn’t watched a movie since Pokemon Go came out. Determined to change that, he grabbed The Ugly Truth and popped it in his Xbox. He watched the movie for about fifteen minutes before his earlier restlessness reared its obnoxious head. Karkat shifted around in his seat. He supposed he could try to text Dave. The thought swung his nerves into overdrive. He picked his phone back up, and put Dave’s number in his contacts. 

Karkat: HAVE YOU CAUGHT ANY MORE POKEMON WHILE YOU ARE *SUPPOSED* TO BE WORKING?

Dave: karkat dude you finally figured out how to work a phone bravo  
Dave: and duh  
Dave: no more mr mimes though  
Dave: that was a once in a lifetime moment  
Dave: here i am working my derriere to the bone  
Dave: scratchin my records like theres no tomorrow  
Dave: toiling hour after hour filled with sorrow  
Dave: when i look to the side and see a face so fair oh

Karkat: NO.  
Karkat: STOP THAT. 

Dave: yeah that last one was not my best  
Dave: but srsly seeing you literally crawling up the stairs next to my booth  
Dave: plush rump jutting out impudently for the whole club to see  
Dave: to catch a goddam mr mime  
Dave: who was gracing my tables like a gift straight from the god of pokemon himself  
Dave: dude  
Dave: *swoons*

Karkat: THAT REMINDS ME.  
Karkat: heisbeautyheisgrace.jpeg

Dave: dear god  
Dave: youre bringin a tear to my eye  
Dave: that is now my profile pic on every single one of my socmeds  
Dave: thank you so much for that  
Dave: how did you get mr. mime right on my head  
Dave: tapdancing away like he is the heroic underdog in a street dance off  
Dave: and if he just puts in enough heart  
Dave: he will win the biggest and shiniest trophy of a tapdancing mime  
Dave: and the look of shock on my normally stoic visage  
Dave: true art

Karkat: DID YOU JUST CALL YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS “socmeds”?

Dave: it was ironic

Karkat: OH MY GOD YOU CRUSTY LOCKER ROOM FLOOR.   
Karkat: THAT WORD DOESN’T MEAN WHAT I THINK YOU THINK IT MEANS

Their conversation continued long after the movie was over and throughout all the next one that Karkat put in. The hope Karkat felt in his chest mixed with the excitement and the anticipation of starting something new. A thrill ran through his body all the way to his toes. In just a couple of days, he would have another chance to give this, whatever it was, a try.

__________

The next two days went by quickly, with texts from Dave asking everything from “dude whats your favorite color”, to “did you play the og pokemon on gameboy advance” and “you need to come to my apartment i got the coolest dead shit in jars to show you”. That last one was a little worrying, but it turned out that Dave had an interest in paleontology and related sciences. Karkat was more than a little impressed. He reveled in the attention Dave was giving him, and he looked forward to getting to see him on Saturday night.

On Saturday morning, Karkat received a text from Kanaya.

Kanaya: Please Come Over To My Apartment at 8:30. Bring your Black Skinny Jeans And A Pair Of Black Boots. Be Prepared To Shower Once You Are Here.

With slight trepidation, Karkat send his acknowledgement of her text. He wondered what on earth she was going to do to him.

Karkat wiled away the hours until he could leave. He tidied his apartment, cleaned out his fridge, and watched another romcom. Karkat thought about what to bring over to Kanaya’s but figured that outside what she specifically told him to bring, she would have everything she needed. 

Finally, Karkat remembered that he needed to pay her for whatever she was going to dress him in. He asked her how much he owed her, but she wouldn’t respond.

Eventually, it was time to go.

He grabbed his checkbook, the stuff Kanaya told him to bring, and an extra pair of boxers, then headed for her place.

He arrived on time and walked up to her door, which was painted a jade green. He knocked and waited. After a moment, Kanaya’s girlfriend, Rose, opened the door.

“Karkat, hello. Do come in.”

“Rose, hey. Where’s Kanaya?”

“She is in the bathroom, getting everything ready to do your makeover.” Rose smiled demurely. “Though she would never admit it, she was exceptionally excited that you requested her assistance. I have no doubt that you are going to love what she has planned for you.” Her smile widened as she watched Karkat process her subtle threat.

He paused for a moment. Karkat loved Kanaya, but sometimes her girlfriend gave him the heebie jeebies. “I’m going to go find her.”

Rose nodded. “I look forward to seeing the finished results. As I am sure my dear brother does as well.”

Karkat had already started walking toward the bathroom, but halted and faced Rose. “Your brother?”

She smiled again. He felt like she was going to eat him. “Surely you can see the family resemblance.”

Fair hair. Sharp jawline.

Goddamnit.

“I didn’t know you and Dave were related.” 

“Mmm, yes. We grew up separately, but are in fact, twins.”

“Huh.” Damn, did everyone he knew have some sort of connection to Dave that he didn’t know about?

“Now hurry along. Kanaya is waiting.” Rose shooed him toward the bathroom.

Karkat stumbled down the hall and into Kanaya’s guest bathroom. She was fiddling with something on the counter and looked up when Karkat came in.

“Hello Karkat. I am just about finished preparing. If you wouldn’t mind, please use the master bathroom to shower. When you are finished, please use the detangling spray I set out on the counter. I will be waiting in here.”

Karkat nodded, but before he left, he pulled out his checkbook. “How much do I owe you for everything you brought from your store?” 

Kanaya waved a hand to the side. “Let’s see if you even like what I have picked out before you pay me. And remember, I also accept payment in favors owed.” 

He rolled his eyes, but acquiesced. He was going to repay her one way or another.

Following her orders, Karkat headed for the master bathroom. He turned on the water in the shower and sighed. The pressure was so perfect, the only thing that pushed him to get hurry up and get ready was his excitement to see Dave. He rinsed off, grabbed a fluffy towel, and quickly dried himself. Karkat pulled on his clean pair of boxers and sprayed some of the detangling mist on his hair. It smelled like apples. For whatever reason, it reminded him of Dave.

When he was done, he wandered back to the guest bathroom. Kanaya sat him down on the closed lid of the toilet and brandished a purple brush at him. 

“This is what we are going to use to start to tame your hair. It is made specifically so you can use it on wet hair.”

He shrugged and let her work. She finished brushing, then grabbed her blow dryer and started on his hair. When she was done with the dryer, Karkat’s hair was a massive round halo around his head. Biting his lip to keep from commenting, he watched her dab a small amount of oil on her palms. She coated her hands with a thin sheen then fingercombed them through his hair. Almost instantly his hair began to deflate.

Next, she pulled out her flat iron. She pinned his top layer of hair up, and straightened the rest of it in batches. Kanaya worked through the layers and when she was done, she ran her hands through his hair again, which he had to admit looked shiny and softer than he thought possible.

“One would never have guessed your hair was this long, Karkat.”

Karkat grabbed a piece of hair. It went past his chin. “No shit. It's lives on my goddamn head and even I can’t believe it.”

Kanaya fingercombed all of his hair back. She removed a hair tie from around her wrist and swept Karkat’s hair back into a bun, pulling out a couple of strategic strands. 

“There. Now you have what I believe is called a ‘man bun’.” She said, her voice dry. Karkat could almost hear the air quotes.

“Jesus Christ, just call it a bun. I like to think I’m not THAT much of an insecure rotten fish on the floor of a farmer’s market that I need to make a goddamn bun more masculine by adding the word man onto it.” Karkat groused. 

When he was done complaining, he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. Kanaya gave him a hand mirror so he could see what it looked like from the back. After inspecting his reflection, Karkat decided he looked really fucking good in a bun. With his hair pulled back, you could actually see his cheekbones. His eyebrows somehow also looked better. Karkat suspected magic. 

Kanaya rested her hands on his shoulders. “Time to get you dressed.” Her eyes gleamed. Kanaya was in her element.

Karkat pulled on his jeans and boots, feeling slightly stupid putting on shoes while he was still shirtless. When he was done, Kanaya held up a fitted burgundy v-neck shirt and a black leather motorcycle jacket. Her eyebrows raised, she waited for his approval. 

“Well, let me put them on.” Karkat said, gruffly. He pulled the shirt on and slid the jacket over his shoulders. It was surprisingly light weight. He took another look in the mirror. The overall effect was..nice. With his hair pulled back and wearing clothes that looked like they were made for his body, Karkat almost didn’t recognize himself. 

“Kanaya..wow.” He turned around. He was going to have her move in with him and dress him every day, he swore.

“What do I owe you?” Karkat asked, his question telling her how much he liked the makeover.

She beamed at him. “One colossal favor, redeemable at any time.” She replied, then stepped into the hallway. 

“Rose, darling? Come take a look. I do believe I have created a masterpiece.”

A moment later Rose stepped into the room.

“My, my. Who is this runway model staring at me and what have you done to Karkat?”

For a second, it seemed as if Kanaya was actually glowing with happiness. Karkat shook his head and dismissed it as a trick of the light.

“If you are both quite done with fawning over my appearance…” Karkat mumbled, both proud and embarrassed. 

“Of course. I’ll just briefly get changed and we can meet Terezi and Vriska at Sunslammer for a couple of drinks before heading to Duodecim Angelus.”

________

It was about 10:30 when they arrived at Sunslammer. Due to its ridiculously cheap drink specials, the bar was already crowded. Kanaya, Rose, and Karkat walked inside and looked around for their friends. They were greeted by a loud wolf whistle. 

“Ow, ow, Karkat!” Vriska hollered. She was sitting in a booth and obviously well on her way to intoxication. “You clean up gooooooood! If I had lower standards, I’d tap that like a keg!”

Karkat crossed his arms, but headed in her direction with Kanaya and Rose following behind. “Nice backhanded compliment, you soul-sucking ass cancer.”

Terezi bounded up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. “Karkles! Kanaya! Rose! Hiii!” She must have been keeping pace with Vriska.

Extricating himself from her grip, he maneuvered Terezi onto the bench next to Vriska. They had two mostly full drinks on the table so he turned to Rose and Kanaya. “What do you two want to drink?”

“I’ll take a vodka martini, please.” Rose answered.

Karkat turned to Kanaya. “Bloody Mary. Thank you Karkat.”

He nodded and went to the bar. Despite the amount of people waiting, he was able to get service pretty quickly. He ordered the drinks for the girls and got a jack and coke for himself. On his way back to the table he was accosted by a server carrying a tray of what looked like plastic test tubes filled with different colored liquids. 

“Dollar shots!” She shouted.

Karkat considered, then handed her some bills and yelled, “Can you follow me? I’ll buy 8.” The server nodded and trailed after him. He got to the table, paid and tipped the server, then divvied up the shots. Kanaya, Rose, and him got two each, and he gave Vriska and Terezi one each since they had been drinking longer. They all clinked their shots and downed them. There were really easy to take. Karkat assumed that less actual alcohol was used in them to make them so cheap, but he didn’t particularly care. They gave the server the little tubes back and sat down at the booth. The drinks filled Karkat’s stomach with the sensation of warmth. While the others were busy, he checked Pokemon Go to see if there was any interesting or rare Pokemon around. He came up with zilch.

Putting his phone away, Karkat leaned over the table to talk to Terezi. “Who else is coming out tonight?”

“Hmmm. I think John is going to meet us at the club, and so will Nepeta and Equius. I don’t know about anyone else!” She leaned forward so close that her breath ghosted against Karkat’s face and waggled her eyebrows. “And of course Daaave will be there!”

Karkat blushed. “Whatever, shut up.”

Terezi cackled and put an arm around his shoulders. “Tonight is going to be so much fun!”

Anticipation roiling in his stomach at the thought of what was to come, Karkat agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i apparently reeeeeeally like kanaya getting to dress up her friends, and i really karkat looking hot. and apparently i also like him with his hair pulled back? i am showing some serious not-so-sub-conscience desires with this fic, i swear


	7. Come With Me, The Time Is Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp, we are finally on our way to earning the Mature classification here.
> 
> Same warnings about booze, etc for this chapter.
> 
> Thanks to everyone reading, commenting, etc. You guys give me life! :)

They stayed at Sunslammer for about an hour, everyone constantly buying drinks for one another. Everyone was pretty well on their way to being hammered by the time they made it to Duodecim Angelus. This time, Karkat marched confidently to the front of the line, only swaying a little bit. “Karkat Vantas.” The bouncer checked his list and nodded, gestured for an ID, stamped his hand with a symbol of an angel, and moved on to his friends. They each in turn were let in. Karkat decided that it was pretty awesome knowing someone on the inside so they didn’t have to wait in line.

Rose managed to convince another group to vacate a table, and the girls sat down. Karkat remained standing and decided he was ready for another drink. He asked around, but none of them were paying attention to him. Shrugging, Karkat stood up and wandered to the bar. As he walked, he looked around. This place seemed to be pretty modern, with high ceilings and minimalist furniture. At least Karkat thought that was what modern meant. He got to the bar, and waited at the glass counter for his turn. 

“Hey, cutie. Whatcha drinking?” Karkat turned to the man next to him, who was leering at him from behind a pair of hipster glasses.

“None of your goddamn business.” Karkat liked getting free drinks, but he got a weird vibe off of this guy and didn’t want to talk to him.

“Aww, don’t be like that.” The man said, leaning forward. “Lemme buy you a drink.”

Karkat bristled, but ignored him and turned to the bartender to order his drink. Karkat decided to go with the same thing he got as last weekend. “Long island Iced Tea. Two of them.” At this rate, he was going to develop a habit.

“So you here alone? A looker like you should have someone to treat him special.”

Karkat stared resolutely forward. Come on, come on, hurry it up with those drinks already, Karkat mentally shouted at the bartender.

“Hey, look at me when I’m talking to you.” The man grabbed Karkat’s shoulder and whirled him to face him.

“EX-FUCKING-SCUSE ME! I WAS TRYING TO BE POLITE BUT THE MOMENT YOU LAY YOUR SMELLY SHIT STAINED FINGERS ON ME IS THE MOMENT YOU ASKED FOR A BEAT DOWN.” Karkat stepped forward, shoving his finger into the man’s chest.

“Hey, babe, you been waiting on me?” He felt a hand on his arm. Startled, Karkat spun around to face the person who the voice belonged to.

When he saw who it was, Karkat deflated. “Dave.”

Dave circled an arm around Karkat’s shoulders. “Grab your drinks, hon." He leaned into the counter and addressed the bartender. "Marcie, you can put them on this asshole’s bill.” Dave said, pointing a thumb at the spluttering man.

Arm still around Karkat, Dave guided them away. Once they were out of earshot, Karkat turned to him and crossed his arms. “I didn’t need saving, asswipe.”

Dave snorted. “Dude, I was not trying to save you. I was trying to make sure you didn’t commit homicide and get kicked out of the club before you could jam to my dulcet harmonies.”

Karkat harrumphed. As he did, Dave stopped and stared at him. 

Like, really stared at him.

“Karkat.” His voice lowered. “Man, you look…” 

He ducked his head and swallowed. When he looked up and met Karkat’s eyes, Karkat gasped. Intent burned through Dave’s stare, brushing deep within Karkat, igniting his own desire. He stepped closer, and ran his fingers down Karkat’s cheek. He leaned in and pressed his body against Karkat’s. Karkat could feel his interest burning a line on his lower stomach. Dave whispered into Karkat’s ear, his lips brushing against him. 

“I’m going to eat you alive.”

Karkat stared back at Dave. This man was going to kill him, he swore it. Karkat licked his lips. Dave’s lips parted and he leaned in. Karkat was vaguely aware of all the people around them, but the only one who mattered right now was Dave.

“Karkat! Kaaarkat!” A voice shouted. It was Terezi. Dave and Karkat both reluctantly stepped away from each other. Karkat made a herculean effort not to shout at Terezi for interrupting them, but a part of him knew that it was for the best and he actually wasn’t an exhibitionist. 

He settled for gritting his teeth. “What do you want.”

“Dave’s about to go on! You should come dance with us.” Terezi sniffed over at Dave. “Oh, hi Dave! Don’t you have to go on, like right now?”

“SHIT.” Dave turned to run to the DJ Booth, but stopped. “You’ll wait for me after, right Karkat?”

Karkat rolled his eyes. “Of course, douchelord. Go do your job.”

Dave grinned “Okay, make sure you are paying attention to my first set. I got something I made special for you.” He turn and ran. 

“So... Karkles. Was I interrupting anything?” Again with the eyebrows.

Karkat went to run his hands through his hair, but remembered that it was pulled back. “Uhg. Yes. No. Maybe. No." He sighed. "It was good that you came when you did.”

Terezi cackled and swiped one of his drinks. “C’mon, let’s go back. I’m sure everyone wants to hear what Dave has in store for you!”

Karkat took a fortifying gulp from his drink and followed Terezi back to their friends.

They had not quite reached their group when a voice came over the speakers to pump up the crowd and introduce Dave. When he stepped forward, Dave scanned the crowd and stopped when he found Karkat. It gave Karkat a thrill to know that the person everyone was focused on only had eyes for him.

When he was sure Karkat was watching, Dave nodded and smirked, then got started.

......Holy fucking shit, was this what Karkat thought it was?

Judging by the immediate ear-piercing screams from the crowd, it absolutely was.

Dave had taken the opening music from the original Pokemon Red and Blue games, and mixed it with something else to make it, damn, Karkat didn’t even know. All he knew that it was fucking awesome, and Dave had made it for him. It was the most romantic thing that had ever happened to him.

He didn’t know what expression he was wearing, but whatever it was, when Dave saw it he broke out into the most genuine smile Karkat had ever seen on his face.

Karkat was going to tear Dave’s clothes off the second he had a chance.

“Oh my god, Karkat!” Terezi shouted in his ear, bringing him back to the present. “That was so cool! I can’t believe he did that! He must have known there was a risk that the crowd would hate it. But he did it anyways. For yooou!” She leaned into him. “I’m so happy for you, Karkat.” She said, sincerely.

Karkat bumped her shoulder with his. “Thanks, Terezi. It’s your turn now. Feel like sharing your secret crush yet?”

She laughed. “Nope! If something ever happens, you’ll be the first one I tell though, scout’s honor!”

“You were never in Girl Scouts.” Karkat frowned.

Terezi shrugged. “It’s the thought that counts.” She took a swallow of her drink. “C’mon, that’s enough talking! Let’s join the others and dance!”

A grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, he trailed after her. About half of their friends were dancing in a circle. John has his arms up, waving wildly about. Everyone else lwas moderately less awkward. Karkat walked over to John.

“Watch your arms, you spastic overgrown child. You’re going to give someone a head injury.”

“Karkat! Hey!” John continued dancing. “Come and join me! Let loose a little!” 

Karkat held onto his drink and swayed a bit to the music. He figured that even though he was a truly terrible dancer, no one would notice with John around.

“So, you know Dave?” Karkat asked. His brain seemed to be on one track only.

“Yeah, he’s my best buddy! We’ve been friends since we were kids. It’s so great that you guys are getting along. Now the three of us can hang out!”

Karkat blushed. He didn’t think John would want to join in on the activities he had planned for Dave.

Pretending that his mind wasn’t in the gutter, Karkat replied indignantly, “Jesus, did everyone in our group know Dave except for me? Thanks for introducing us, you inconsiderate tools.” 

John stopped waving his arms around and looked at Karkat with big, puppy dog eyes. “I’m sorry, Karkat. I didn’t even think of it!” He said, sincerely.  
Karkat waved his apology away. He felt guilty for making John feel bad. “I’m sure I’ll have more than enough Strider in my hands now to make up for it.” He paused. “On my hands. Not in them. Um.”  
Karkat coughed. John looked perplexed. “Uh, Karkat…what…”  
“Oh, look. I need to get another drink. Be right back!” Karkat ran away. If John couldn’t see what was going on with Dave and Karkat, then someone else would have to be the one to tell him. Karkat wasn’t touching that with a ten-foot pole. At least, not until there was something specific to tell him.

Karkat spend the rest of the time at the club sipping slowly on expensive drinks, and going back and forth between his friends who were sitting at the table and the ones who were dancing. Karkat decided he would get one more drink, then just wait with his friends at the table until Dave got off.

He walked over to the bar. Karkat figured that since none of his friends were around, he’d try a drink he’d always been curious about.

A bartender came over. “What can I get for ya?”

“Sex on the beach.” Karkat answered with attempted nonchalance.

“Ooooh, I’d love to, Karkat. How’d you know?” A voice said from behind him. 

“On second thought, I’ll pass.” Karkat told the bartender, who shrugged and moved on to help someone else. Karkat turned around to face Dave. He swallowed his retort when he looked at Dave up close, his face flushed and glowing with sweat.

Dave stepped forward into Karkat’s space. He stayed there for a moment, both of them breathing in each other’s air. “Want to head back to my place?”

Karkat gulped and nodded. When he spoke, his voice came out as a croak. “Yeah, let me tell my friends I’m leaving, then we can go.”

Before he could chicken out, Karkat grabbed Dave’s hand and pulled him toward his group. They were still a little ways away when he met Kanaya’s eye. Karkat gestured at Dave. Her eyebrows rose, but she nodded. He pointed at his mouth and then at Terezi, at himself, then the exit, in a kind of stupid ‘tell her I left’ gesture. Kanaya smirked and nodded again, making a little shooing movement with her hand. Karkat seriously had the best friends.

_________

In the quiet of the bus back to Dave’s apartment, Karkat’s anxiety ramped up with every passing moment of silence.

He fidgeted with the zipper on his jacket, and blurted what he’d been thinking all night. “I can’t believe you played that song. Could you get in trouble for playing something like that?” 

Dave knocked Karkat’s foot with his own. “Nah.” He said, hooking his foot around Karkat’s ankle. “Did you like it?”

“I fucking loved it, Dave. Everyone did. It was incredible. I…oomph!” Dave had quickly leaned over and pressed his lips to Karkat’s. A flush creeping up his cheeks, he sat back.

“I’m, uh, glad you liked it.”

Karkat rolled his eyes and grabbed Dave’s hand, entwining their fingers together. “Of course I did, dumbass.”

They sat the rest of their journey in quiet contemplation, the contact with each other putting them at ease.

It wasn’t long before the bus slowed to a stop. Dave shifted and made to stand. “This is us.”

They made their way off the bus and walked about a block to Dave’s building. It was close to Lakeside Park, where they had first met. Once inside, they climbed several flights of stairs before they reached his apartment. Dave unlocked the door, and let Karkat inside. Karkat kicked his boots off and looked around. It was a small, one bedroom apartment with beige walls and carpeting. It had an air of perpetual messiness, but none that Karkat could actually see. He turned around to face Dave, who had just finished locking the door and was staring at Karkat.

Dave stepped close, and reached over andpulled out the hair tie keeping Karkat’s hair back. His hair swung free around his face. Dave ran his hands through Karkat’s hair and pulled his face close. “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.” He murmured, brushing his nose against Karkat’s. Realizing where he was standing and who he was with, Karkat's muted desire from earlier came back in full force.

Karkat pulled Dave flush against him, and guided their mouths together. Greedily, Dave kissed him back, lips parting and tongue pushing into Karkat’s waiting mouth. Dave pulled at Karkat’s jacket, leaving it in a pile on the floor. His hands found there way under Karkat’s shirt, touching everything in reach. Karkat tugged Dave’s shirt over his head and gasped at the sight of Dave’s long, lean torso. Karkat attacked Dave’s neck, his shoulders, his chest with his lips and teeth. Eventually, he paused and reached for Dave’s hands. He looked at Dave questioningly.

Dave nodded, eyes half lidded, and led the way into his bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the Remix that Dave plays. We’re gonna pretend that in this universe that he made this specifically for karkat. :)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8bVGXpi_L0
> 
> Also, so you know, the next chapter is less of a chapter and more of a micro epilogue. 
> 
> Thanks again for sticking through this with me! You all are the best!


	8. Epilogue: There's No Better Team

Karkat woke up, light blazing in through the window. He frowned, he always tried to keep his blinds drawn in his bedroom. Opening his eyes, he found that he was in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. Karkat caught a glimpse of pale skin, causing memories of how he ended up there to rush through his mind. His toes curled in happiness and remembered pleasure.

He tipped his head to the side to check for the time. It was 2:00 in the afternoon. A little chagrined, Karkat ran his hands through his hair.

Was this going to be his life now? Staying up all night drinking with friends. Falling in love with someone the complete opposite of him. Acting like he just turned 21, weekend after weekend, as he slowly got older?

Karkat looked over at the other side of the bed, where Dave was still sleeping. His face was unguarded and he looked so, so young. Karkat’s heart ached. He didn’t know what would happen when school started again, when he would be spending nights and weekends doing the endless planning and grading that accompanied the job that he loved.

Forcing those thoughts away, Karkat grabbed his phone and opened Pokemon Go. He hadn’t played much in the past few days, his mind having been otherwise occupied. 

He stared at his phone and blinked.

“Dave.” He poked Dave in the side. “Dave, you need to wake up!”

Dave rolled over and buried his head under a pillow. “Don’ wanna.”

“There’s a goddamn Lickitung in your bathroom!”

Dave’s head shot up, tossing the pillow onto his back. “Shit, where’s my phone?”

The pair scrambled to find Dave’s phone. Once they did, they both tried to capture Lickitung at the same time.

Dave grinned at Karkat, his smile lighting up his whole face. Karkat returned the smile, his face practically splitting in half at his happiness. Dave leaned over and kissed him messily.

Dave ran a hand through Karkat’s hair and leaned his forehead against Karkat's. “Wanna go get some good pancakes and terrible coffee?”

Karkat grabbed the hand Dave had in his hair and kissed his palm. “Fuck yeah, I’m starving. Do they do chocolate chip pancakes?”

Dave stood up and helped pull Karkat up. “ I dunno, but I’m totally gonna ask now though. Maybe they’ll put ‘em in a cute little smiley for you.”

After they got dressed, they headed out the door, hand in hand, to greet a new day.

Karkat didn’t know what the future had in store, but he knew what he had this morning. For now, that was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! You guys make my heart grow so much that it bursts out of my chest like an alien from Alien. Even though they burst out of stomachs, I think?
> 
> Anyways, I am thinking of writing the missing Explicit scene and adding that as a Part 2 of this fic. So if you were disappointed at the lack of sexytimes, I guess say something and I might follow through!
> 
> Soo...Thanks again!
> 
> <3<3<3


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